C.J. Cherryh's Blog, page 143

Things you wish you had on film…

…Eushu and Seishi, last night, playing chase. Seishi is not a big cat, but when he stretches out, he's got length.

I've worried about Sei: Shu just won't let him alone: it's constant wrestling and chasing, and I mean dawn past dusk, interrupted by an afternoon nap.

Last night he stood up to see what was on the table. And Shu rushed him for a full-body tackle.

Sei continued to look at the objects on the table, neatly and gently put his big Scottish Fold paw on Shu's head and flattened him, without violence. Never turned his head—just pushed Shu down until he had seen what he wanted to see. That is not a harried cat. That is Big Brother taking a personal moment. And that's how calm and gentle Sei is, despite a kitten whose voice hasn't changed yet.

Did I explain how I found Sei? I knew Ysabel was being driven to the brink, and her health was suffering. We needed a buffer. I thought I wanted a kitten of my own, and I knew the breed that most tempted me: Scottish Fold; and there is a fairly local cattery. But a look around their site told me they were way  too pricey, even for the straight-ears, which go for much less than the foldeds.

So I took a look in the Retired Cats, not really wanting to take on a late-middle-aged cat set in her ways, and her medical problems, but deeply concerned for Ysabel, and thinking maybe a Retired might be social and quiet.

And of all things—I see a surplus one year old straight-eared male with the sweetest face. I used to run a cattery, my own, a dismal venture. I know the situation of the spare male. If a male doesn't sell as a kitten, you've got a problem that is only going to cost you money: males, however sweet, become a disturbance and a risk of multiple vet bills on another cat and him. This fellow had already been neutered (the cattery's admission that they're giving up selling him to another breeder, and he has a slight visual defect you have to look at a while to detect, but bet that his breeder knows it, and that's another problem for a buyer to whom that matters.) He'd had all his shots, to boot; that's a big deal to factor into the asking price.  He's a year old and healthy, ergo no chance of getting a cat who'll manifest the arthritis that troubles the breed, so the story wasn't that there'd been a mis-breeding in the cattery (folded to folded will turn up that recessive gene). So he has a slightly lazy but perfectly fine eye [if you know me, I have the same problem]—no problem to me.  All vet bills that come with a new kitten already handled, so no further expense; a healthy cat, good coat, great disposition—I took a deep breath, considered Ysabel's desperate situation, and decided, well, this can be my birthday present and my Christmas: I couldn't ask for a better—IF—he's as described. I go over there, and I'll confess I was nervous. I'd asked to come pick him up immediately. No deposit had gone down, ergo no money at risk if I balk; but—was he going to be a runny-eyed, sickly fellow far older than that photo and psycho to boot? I wouldn't know until I saw him. And I was fully prepared to walk away if I had to.

One look, and he was gorgeous. Terrified by the sight of strangers, but I took him on my lap, and he began to settle, even to try to purr. And he was more than his pictures. Next worry: were there last-moment hidden charges? (another kind of nasty trick you can get into.)No. The price was firm. The breeder was one of the good ones, and he was coming home with me.

We had Eushu with us in the car. Shu was loose, and knows the rules in a car, but there was some hissing. Seishi stayed in his cage for the whole trip, for safety's sake. And my next worry was—have I done the right thing: I'm trying to help Ysabel by taking the heat off her. But what if they meet and she goes into an emotional nosedive?

I took special care that that didn't happen, no face-to-face, not until she'd  had a chance to think about it. A little hiss-spit. But Eushu wanted to play. Sei wanted to hide. Not unusual. By morning, Eushu was chasing him out of his hiding places, and Ysabel was only moderately annoyed—and best of all, was relaxing around Eushu, now that he'd acquired another target.

Now—would Sei be bullied by this halfgrown terror? We were worried about that. Well, that paw on the head said it all. Sei's patient, but he's not getting pushed; Ysabel's relaxing in her own house and recovered from her illness; and I think we're a household.

 

Update on Ysabel

I think we've got the eye condition handled, and we're down to the basic fact that she's 80 0r 90 kitteh years old, and had first the loss of her companion [she came down with a respiratory infection], and then the introduction of a very rowdy kitteh who mistook her for a playmate, and then a trip to a place she and Efanor shared, where he wasn't: she just relived it all again. Eushu likely gave her a scratch in the eye, and she relapsed into a second round of respiratory infection, and then an eye med she was allergic to. We've got her through it, and simultaneously given Eushu a very gentle but playful big brother, and the stress, thank goodness, is off Ysabel, who now just wants to have her daily sunbeam in her favorite chair, and tuna treat when she's in the mood (I have to juggle now 3 cats, each to have a teaspoon of tuna, including Shu, who, being a kitten, thinks he should have his and be able to sample the good part of everybody else's.)

Ysabel is now basically happy and well, and has shaken the infections, and is rather nicely greeting Demon Kitten now and again with a little lick on the ear. She has a two foot 'personal space' that Seishi is to observe, which she will now enforce with a swat that doesn't remotely hit him, and Sei respects her and just moves, so I think we've turned the corner with her health. She is again queen of the household, and owner of the red chair by the window, enforces her personal space, and the rowdiness of her two subjects does not trouble her naps. I don't know if she's finally resigned from car trips: we'll have to ask her if she'll share a car with those two in exchange for the shotgun seat and a lap and a nearly constant sunbeam. But Sei is still brand new, and she may decide he can come closer. We'll give it time.

 

Another Seishi-Shu slideshow on Jane's blog…

Seishi has the patience of a kitteh saint.

Play fighting…arrgh!

At least it doesn't involve Ysabel. But this kitten is almost too much for Seishi, who finally gets enough and goes for a bolt hole where he can slap Eushu's nose. Seishi's claws are clipped very short. Eushu's, not so much. I'll tell you, I am not keen on somebody getting an eye scratched, which is where Ysabel got conjunctivitis. And she's allergic to the antibiotic ointment. So I'm going to ask the vet if I can (without another vet visit) pick up some meds OSG recommended as little likely to provoke allergy: not as if she hasn't been diagnosed. Meanwhile I've been using a belladonna drop (Simulsan) made for pinkeye, and it has given Ysabel some relief, poor girl.

I try to defend Seishi from the Demon Kitten, but then Seishi darts out to play hare to Shu's hound, and there we go again! I don't think he's feeling too threatened.

Sei is NOT welcome on my bed: ask Ysabel. She'll put him off that. But otherwise they're getting along quite nicely, just a little exchange when I filled Sei's dish and Ysabel thought it should be HER dish.

Well, that's the kitteh politics. We have discovered Sei is ALSO fascinated by the marine tank. As well as Shu jumps, we figure sooner or later we're going to have a kitteh half-soaked.  Sei does not jump so well. His big feet (his breed has huge feet) are not good for fine footwork in delicate places.

We had a nice breakfast in the rain, under the patio umbrella. And Jane has what we hope will be her follow-up hematology appointment on Wednesday. It would be nice to get a clean bill and be told to tootle off.

 

Shu-shu, Shi-shi, and She Who Must Be Obeyed…or at least respected.

Ysabel's been through a very hard bit, not least of which, as I began to suspect, was being allergic to the eye meds. We went out looking for Ocuvisc, couldn't find it, and came away with a fairly decent substitute, GenTeal Gel Eye Drops. They're soothing, a bit viscous, so they stay around a bit, and this morning I woke up with Ysabel (her most annoying habit) washing my hair—which was so good to see. She's been so sick and so miserable. Shu hasn't a mean bone in his body, but his instinct to romp and mock-fight was all too serious with Ysabel, and I think she got scratched in the eye, and was just so frazzled and upset she had a relapse from a respiratory infection, so it's been touch and go with her. We had to bow out on our long-anticipated Crater Lake trip to continue her meds, which started on, I think [I've been a bit confused on time] Monday; and finally I'm seeing something like a restored Ysabel. Meanwhile Seishi, who arrived shy and hiding under furniture on Wednesday, is beginning to take gentle possession of doorways, and to engage Shu in all-out wrestling matches—when Shu can't find him, Shu goes about crying and warbling and trying to get him to come out. Sei came in somewhat thin and is now eating like a horse: he scarfed down two pans of dry food yesterday, is running and playing with Shu—sometimes you wonder if they're playing, but he's standing up to the Demon Kitten quite well. That thick plush coat protects him against Shu's bitey habit, and we only intervene when it starts getting too rowdy or too intense. It's good for Sei, who's grown up in a cattery, passive and willing to let life just kinda happen: Sei's getting more assertive, Shu's meeting somebody of his own species who will tell him 'no'—no one ever has. If you discipline him, he yowls and has a little kitty snit-fit and tries to bite—and Sei is capable to telling him 'no' in a kitteh way that is good for Demon Kitten.

We think Shu will outgrow Sei—and is still gaining weight: his voice is still a little kitten mew, not Sei's authoritative mao!–but in about another month or so the vet is going to level the future playing field.

With people, Sei is very shy, but getting more confident, and this cat not only loves tummy fur, he turns himself into a furry snake on your lap, rolling and head butting and wanting his tummy rubbed and his chin rubbed and his back scratched…he's such a hedonist.

Let's see: day before yesterday the latch on our storm door broke: it's one of those steel security jobs with a lattice, and quite durable—except the latch. So yesterday, in the hot sun, Jane replaced the latch: didn't remotely know you could get a new lock and latch for a storm door, but yes, you can. The one we got turned out to be a 'return' that had already been modified for somebody's door, the rat, but fortunately the little stem of a lock axle that breaks in sections and lets you adjust for thickness had enough of it left for our very skinny door, so it worked. We liked this latch handle best of all the new ones: this is an old model, and came without instructions, so we went back to Lowe's and got them to Xerox instructions from the new model box; plus re-key the lock to work with one of our other keys, so now we cannot get locked out.

Did I mention how we went out to the pond Wednesday night, the night we got back with Seishi, and got locked out by our new door? It's got a tricksy handle. Well, we had the garage accessible, so we got a box knife and a ladder, and cut the screen out: Jane proved she can still climb in a window…and a bathroom window at that, which is not large, or low. But she got in, and opened the door, and the next day our front door latch broke—so we have now done a major number on our doors and locks and have a windowscreen in for replacement—our local Ace can do that.

So things are going to be a bit more tranquil now. Sei is rubbing round my ankle and Shu is try to start another wrestling match. The day goes on.

 

Enter Seishi.

He's smaller than he looks, and curls into a ball when you pick him up—very shy, very gentle: he's a year old, been brought up in a cattery, and has never had a person of his own, hence the shyness. He's used to other cats: hasn't hissed or scratched or tried to defend himself, despite a hissy kitten who then tries to go to sleep next to his cage. He spent the night under the bureau in my bedroom, in the same room with Ysabel. Ysabel hissed a couple of times, but mostly spent the night on my bed, while Seishi sat under the bureau and howled, hoping to hear from his usual cat-neighbors. He has a brother who's being shipped to Hawaii, and so he'd lose him, and then become one of those cattery neuters who just hangs around being Good Old George, but never having a large life.

Well, we plan to change that. We'll get him out of his shell and have him playing in the wide 'open' spaces of the house, and traveling in the car—he made a 6 hour drive over the passes and didn't have trouble with his ears and had no fear of the car.

So meet Seishi. The name, variously, [at least by the dictionary] means "heir apparent," "true luxury," "fourth companion", and "remembered spirit." Eushu, if you take it as Yushu, means "increasingly the master."

Seishi contemplates his tail

 

typical Seishi, no matter what's going on

Jane's got a new slideshow up: the Seattle Chinese Gardens…

It's under construction and will be for years, but it's already camera ready. It's done in cooperation with a sister city, and will be a huge place with a lake and some really spectacular architecture: if you can't afford to go to China, you can take some pretty convincing photos here!

Next vet report. Fairly good news. Really good news, actually.

Upper respiratory infection, with possible eye infection, possibly because Spokane is having nasty pollen at the moment and both Ysabel and I share allergies. So…….bless the vet, who took her back in (they're having a crisis; their ac is out) and was very happy I had brought her back. This upper respiratory crud really had manifested bigtime since her vet visit yesterday, as in yesterday evening. She's negative on the passengers from Eushu: both she and Eushu are clear of those. And possibly she caught kitten-crud from him and has just been having a quiet bout of it until the stress of the visit where she thought she would find Efanor. The emotional crash threw her lower gut into a tizzy, and gave free rein to the infection she'd almost thrown off. So she got a nice shot of cefalexawhatever and a tube of stuff that should help the eye discomfort as well as mopping up any eye infection. An optometrist once explained to me that the eye is kind of a closed system, and you can't take pill that's going to help an eye infection. So that's why the separate med, I guess. At any rate, she's had her shot of anticrud juice, I've got the tube of eye medicine, and she was really very even keel. This is a small vet office in a 1930′s era shopping strip, but they get a lot of business, and they're good. Ysabel has had a different vet than Eushu's, since she's been in on a crisis situation, no time to be picky, and Eushu has had two different ones, due to when we had to bring him in on one occasion; and we like all of them really well, and so do the cats, which is a first.

A new Closed Circle affiliate: Thieves' World Forever.

Thieves' World lives. http://thievesworldforever.com/

 

Vet visit—

We think possibly it was the stress of the trip with Eushu…but just in case are checking for the little internal passengers Eushu arrived with and we cured in him. There are worse possibilities, but she is now eating and drinking, which argues against some of the worse ones.And we will get word on the labs tomorrow.

Beyond that into the metaphysical…The bond Efanor and Ysabel had was such that we could have them in separate cars and they somehow reacted to the oddest things. Efanor knew when Ysabel and I ran off the road in Nebraska, and our cars got separated. He knew when, late that night and by phone, Jane and I finally made contact. He slept through the trip to catch up with us until he got within a mile of the motel where I was, and then (which he never did before or since) got up and leaned on the dashboard of the car until Jane reached the motel. Ysabel, meanwhile, had gotten off the bed and was pacing the floor when Jane's car pulled in. Can they tell the car motors? Sure. But not a mile apart in traffic. And not with mine turned off and us in a motel room. So if ever there were two strangely intertwined felines, Ysabel and Efanor were it. And it just killed us when, on arrival at Chip's, she started calling and searching for him—and then went into a real physical tailspin. So yes, emotional upset could be part of it. We hadn't anticipated she'd think she could find him there. And Shu trying to play just hit her in a very wrong mood. If he also gave her parasites a while back, that would up the ante re upset stomach.

So we are proposing something we don't ordinarily do: we're looking to bring in an older neutered male kitty who will be comfy with Ysabel, buffer Eushu's rowdiness and give Eushu somebody to play with in a rowdy kitteh way. We aren't sure yet. We've got a call in to a cattery in Montana to see if this can work out.

Meanwhile I am a wreck considering Ysabel's collapse last night, Jane is trying to help me stay on even keel, and we just found one of our koi done in by (we think) a raccoon: no fault of OSG's. We think this happened last night. We just surrounded the pond with pepper powder: we think the recent rains washed off the coyote scent, and pepper's what we had left.

Honestly. I've had better weekends.